Producer M. Night Shyamalan pulls off a neat and quite surprising trick here, mimicking the best of the 'Saw' franchise (the preachy tension) without succumbing to the torture porn thrills of snapping traps and raw gaping wounds. Coming from a filmmaker caught in a horrific slump, it's a risky endeavor but ultimately a positive step in his career. Grade: C.  

Meryl Streep continues to delight in an effervescent turn as cooking legend Julia Child, whose biography makes up half of this fact-based trifle from writer/director Nora Ephron. Her counterpart is Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a frustrated would-be novelist who turns to her avocation for cooking, opting to launch a blog in which she'll chronicle preparing all 524 recipes from Child's seminal cookbook 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in 365 days. Grade: C.